Need a hand choosing the right UAD-2 Card? They come with 1,2,4 and 8 cores for extra processing power and include free bundled plugins. So whether you looking to get a huge range of bundled plugins for your MacBook or just want a little extra grunt in your desktop we've got a solution to suit.

Universal Audio UAD-2 QUAD Core - DSP Accelarator

The sound of legendary vintage and modern analogue hardware for your PC or Mac. Universal Audio have gone to incredible lengths to find out what makes great analogue hardware tick and recreate that in plugin format for your DAW (VST, AU, RTAS). Who would know better than the company which created the worlds favourite compressor, the 1176 and still make quality analogue and digital hardware to this day.

Few companies can boast the heritage of Universal Audio, so you know they deliver the sound of the 60's from Ampex tape, 80's Lexicon reverb, or modern valve tone from a Manley Massive Passive.

Included Plugins - Packed with power right out the box

All UAD accelarator packages come with the Analogue Classics bundle right out the box. This means you get the LA-2A Classic Audio Leveler, 1176 LN & SE Limiting Amplifiers, Pultec EQP-1A Program Equalizer, RealVerb Pro Room Modeler, and CS-1 ChannelStrip for free! That's perfect recreations of arguably the two most famous compressors ever made and the most famous EQ plus Reverb and Channel Strip.

Of course there's a huge array of plugins available from Universal Audio. Find out just how seriously UAD takes it's craft with loads of articles, from analogue modelling to famous studio sounds.

UAD plug-in craftsmanship: The science behind the scenes.

Most people don’t immediately think of audio software when they hear the word “craftsmanship.” But that’s what separates UAD plug-ins from the rest. One of the most common responses we hear from UAD users is, “Wow, I didn’t know plug-ins could sound this good.” That’s because in developing UAD-2 plug-ins, UA’s engineering group undertakes a thorough physical modeling of classic audio hardware. This process means that we essentially “rebuild” vintage analog gear in the digital world, component by component. It’s how UAD plug-ins replicate the exact, sometimes quirky, behavior of analog hardware — bringing its rich, three-dimensional sound and harmonics "in the box."

“I have the UAD-2 Satellite that I take everywhere. That box is perfect. You have so many options at your disposal, so many choices.”

Ken Lewis - Drake, Kanye West, Fun., Alicia Keys, and Bruno Mars

“I own a real EMT 140 plate reverb, which I started using a heck of a lot less after I got the UAD EMT 140 Plate Reverb plug-in and realized that not only did it sound as good as my plate, but it was ten times more versatile.”

Vampire Weekend

"I really liked the 1176 Classic Limiter Plug-In Collection — I used it on vocals all over the record. We were basically mixing as we went along, and those compressors sounded fantastic." — Ariel Rechtshaid

FAQ

I can already run VST / AU / RTAS plug-ins on my computer. Why should I buy a UAD-2? For starters, UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins offer warm sonic qualities and character not found in other VST / AU / RTAS plug-ins. Our software engineering group includes some of the world’s leading DSP authorities — including PhD-level scientists from Stanford, MIT, and Cambridge — who undertake thorough physical modeling of classic audio hardware. This process means that we essentially “rebuild” classic analog gear in the digital world. It’s a much more difficult and time-consuming process than using signal modeling (like many other “emulation” plug-ins). But it means that UAD-2 plug-ins not only sound like the original vintage hardware; they behave like the original devices, at even the most extreme settings.

What does UAD-2 “DSP Accelerators” mean, exactly? You may have experienced, on occasion, that your computer lacks sufficient power to run the number of plug-ins that you desire. With UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins, the actual plug-in processing is offloaded to UAD-2 hardware with Analog Devices SHARC processor(s); this frees up your computer to do other things, like mixing audio, running samplers, or soft synths. The end result is that you can run more professional mixes on your system, and can add substantial power to your studio.

Why don’t I just buy a more powerful computer? Well, that depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you need to bolster the overall power and performance of your system, then a new computer is certainly a good solution. However, if you’re specifically looking to maximize your music productions, adding a UAD-2 DSP Accelerator will help in two major ways. First, the UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins Platform offers an integrated solution — the software and hardware are specifically tailored for one another to provide optimum performance and reliability for audio plug-ins. Secondly, because of their high-quality design, UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins are very demanding in terms of processing power. Some of our newest, most complex plug-ins, would drag a typical host computer to its knees after only a handful of instances. So, if more dedicated audio power and higher audio quality is your primary goal, you should definitely look into the UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins platform.

How many UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins can I expect to run? For a complete breakdown of UAD Powered Plug-Ins instance counts for each UAD-2 DSP Accelerator, check out the UAD Instance Chart.

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